Bright Dirty Blonde

There is a dirty blonde shade for every skin tone. That being said, you should consider your skin’s undertones before deciding on which shade of blonde to go with. Warmer tones will tend to flatter those with golden, yellow, or peachy undertones while cooler tones complement pink, red, or blueish undertones. If you’ve got neutral undertones, you’ll find nearly every shade of dirty blonde complementary.

Honey Blonde With Dark Roots

We love this take on the trend, which pairs dark roots with a honey-blonde hue. Leona Lewis’ natural curls and texture help show off the added dimension, which mixes lowlights and highlights for a true dirty blonde look.

Dirty blonde tends to have a bunch of different colors and tones mixed together. Buck says she keeps her dirty blondes at a level 7 and 8. “Depending on your skin tone that will determine the tones used,” she says.

Face-Framing Blonde

Yvonne Orji’s dirty blonde highlights are concentrated around her face, helping to highlight her features and draw attention to the eye. A center part with loose waves that mimic layers adds emphasis to the look.

Dark-Toned Waves

Waves can help show off the contrast between dark- and cool-toned blonde hues, which alternate in this look on Camilla Luddington. Keep the lighter tone concentrated near the face, so it looks sun-kissed and natural.

Subtle Ombré Dark Blonde

Tinashe’s hair goes from darker at the roots to lighter at the tips, but the ombré effect is so subtle that it looks super natural. We love the loose layers that frame her face, which help highlight the gradient color.

Beyoncé Blonde

Very few people do a rooted dirty blonde the way Beyoncé does. While she does change up her look occasionally, her signature color—darker roots with face-framing blonde strands—is something for the history books.

Classic Dirty Blonde

This honey-hued dirty blonde is about as classic as it gets. Serena Williams contrasts the blonde with dark roots to match her thick brows while a center part and waves add volumes.

Dirty Honey Blonde

There’s not an exact definition for dirty blonde hair, and that’s one of the best parts of the color. While certain undertones pair well with different shades, the great thing about this warmer-toned color is that it’s made to suit you however you want it.

Dark Blonde

If you’re going for less of a highlighted color and more of a single-process all-over dirty blonde, consider showing your stylist this dark blonde shade. And don’t forget to swipe some gold glitter shadow over your lids like Gigi Hadid to complete the look and add a little more sparkle to your life.

Buck warns that single-process colors, while beautiful, require more maintenance than highlights because of the growing out process. When deciding whether it’s right for you, keep in mind: “As the hair grows it creates a solid line for the color,” she says.

Golden Babylights

The overall outcome is determined by the foil placement, Buck says. If a client is hoping for more of a rooted, grown-out look with little maintenance—like this curly effect featuring golden babylights on a dark base—she says a “feathered diagonal shape foil placement is needed.”

Bright Face-Framing Highlights

To brighten and warm up the skin, ask your colorist to focus the lightest highlights around your face. This technique will create the impression of overall lighter hair even if you have a dark base like SJP.

Caramel Blonde

Like Laverne Cox’s caramel blonde, a darker root adds depth to the lighter dirty blonde color. It’s a stunning, complementary option, especially on darker skin tones.

Blended Balayage

We love Chrissy Teigen’s beautifully blended balayage, which incorporates neutral blonde highlights to warm up a darker base. No matter your skin’s undertones—warm, cool, or neutral—this color is sure to flatter.

Sunkissed Curls

Curly hair has a tendency to have fine ends, creating new growth that looks heavily colored while the ends stay darker, Buck tells us. To counteract this, she simply tips out all the ends in order to keep the color looking fluid. The result is something like these gorgeous sun-kissed curls.

Neutral Bronde

Haven’t you heard? Everybody is going bronde. The brown-blonde-crossbreed looks amazing on medium-to-dark skin tones, especially when paired with a shag haircut like Halle Berry’s.

Golden Blonde Sombré

Jessica Alba was one of the celebs to help put the “lived-in color” concept on the map. This incredible golden blonde sombré—that would be “soft ombré”—is perfect for natural brunettes who want to lighten their strands up a bit without too much maintenance.

Dirty Blonde and Dark Brows

As far as your brow color goes, the way you pair it with your dirty blonde hair comes down to personal preference. A slightly darker brow can look bold and dramatic. But if that’s not the look you’re going for you can lighten your brows. The recommendation is to not go more than two shades lighter than your natural color.

Lived-In Dirty Blonde

Addison Rae’s lived-in dirty blonde shade features pretty light to dark shifts. Also worth noting: her slightly darker brows. They add the perfect contrast.

Midlights

Beverly Hills colorist Matt Rez is an expert in darker blondes. Using his trademarked midlight color technique to blend neutral, warm, and cool tones without lifting the base color, he creates balanced dirty blondes like this one.

Dirty Blonde Braids

Dirty blonde ribbons of color elevate this protective style for any time of year.

Grown-Out Honey Blonde

This easy-to-maintain color looks absolutely killer on Rita Ora’s wavy hair texture and olive complexion. For a bold pop of color, pair with a classic red lip, which looks especially flattering on warm blondes.

Dirty Ash Blonde

Savannah James is pictured with a dirty ash blonde bob that serves as perfect inspo for anyone after the perfect shade of cool-toned blonde. With the darker roots and face-framing brightness, her color is a great way to achieve dimension without rigorous upkeep.

Natural Blonde

“For a more overall color or a brighter look, a client will need a heavier foil placement closer to the scalp,” Buck says. Taylor Swift, who has kept a pretty consistent dirty blonde shade since the start of her career, is a perfect example.

Warmer-Toned Sombré

Ciara’s dirty blonde sombré is such a head turner—and would definitely require a purple shampoo. To nail her California beach vibes, a no-makeup makeup look is the way to go.

Sandy Blonde

Natural curls and sandy blonde highlights add movement and dimension to Jasmine Sanders’s head of hair. Getting a darker base to dirty blonde is a similar process to naturally blonde hair, Buck says. However, the brunette will be lifted more levels than the blonde.

Melting Bronde

When creating a low-maintenance look, it comes down to color and technique. Priyanka Chopra’s dirty blonde ombré seamlessly transitions from darker roots to blonde tips. Talk about having a talented colorist.

Balanced Blonde

This look manages to find a perfect balance of dirty blonde that seems like it could work great on just about anyone. As far as upkeep goes, Buck loves Joico’s Blonde Life Shampoo for brightening dulled-out hair, Color Balance Purple Shampoo for blonde clients, and Color Balance Blue Shampoo for brunettes to help maintain hair health while leaving it looking shiny and toned.

Dimensional Blonde

Creating a blend of blondes, as seen here on Jennifer Aniston, is a great add-on for the dirty blonde. Strategic highlights make sure your color has a more natural feel.

Warm Dirty Blonde

Warm blonde color accentuates natural texture and bouncy curls so beautifully. With a darker root, it’s much more maintainable in terms of upkeep.

Honey Hue

Lucy Liu’s hair here is a great mix of honey and caramel tones. In terms of maintaining this golden hue, Buck says it depends on the type of service originally provided to the client. Still, he recommends toner application by the stylist between six to eight weeks.

Buttery Blonde

Despite being pretty bright, this warm blonde hue looks amazingly natural on Karlie Kloss, with a hint of dark roots and all-over buttery tones that are to die for.

Two-Toned Space Buns

Not only do we love the space buns stylist Owen Gold created on Soo Joo Park, but her two-toned color looks just as easygoing. While the model and DJ skews platinum with her color, it gets a subtle dirty blonde feel alongside her natural darker tresses.

Rooted Dirty Blonde

Don’t discount this majorly trendy short crop. The lighter blonde, highlighted style here is so pretty and dimensional. Consider styling with Verb Volume Texture Powder to create extra body and lift.

Halo Highlights

Ash blonde is cool-toned while dirty blonde can contain a mix of warm or cool tones. They aren’t too different, but if you want something without any warmth, ash blonde is going to be the better choice for you. With bright, buttery halo highlights framing the face, this dirty ash blonde base is loaded with dimension.

Neutral-Toned Bob

Bucks’ color inspirations include Julianne Hough’s hair in its dirty blonde phase. To avoid having the color actually look dirty, Buck says she always adds a drop of warmth to her toners—even when going for an ash finish.

Dirty Bronde

This cozy shade of dirty bronde with subtle strands of brighter blonde color throughout is perfect as we transition into fall, when stylists usually spend less time with their bleach bowls.

As for lightening your hair without bleach… it depends on how dark your brown hair is and how light you want to go. Usually, lightening any more than five shades will require bleach. There are also natural ways to lighten hair, but this will give you less control than if you were to go to the salon. Consult your colorist to get their recommendation.

Diva Blonde

JLo has gone full-blown diva with this look (and we mean that in the best way possible). Hairstylist Chris Appleton styled her long, undulating waves which underscore movement. Meanwhile, warm blonde color creates depth and complements her medium skin tone.